The float was sponsored by the Libertarians in Delta County. “They support me and I’m not going to tell people not to put my signs on their float,” Rankin said.

Democrats aren’t sure they’re buying his story.

More on that in a minute, but first news from some other legislative races:

REPUBLICAN KAREN CULLEN, Manitou Springs: Her campaign has filed a complaint with the El Paso County district attorney, saying a liberal organization broke state law by mailing inaccurate information about her to voters in House district.

Bruce, the anti-tax crusader from Colorado Springs suspected of being the mastermind behind Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101, sat for a deposition today with attorneys representing opponents of the tax-slashing measures.

But what did he say in the deposition, which was closed to the public?

Attorneys for the opponents say they aren’t commenting until after both sides have agreed to a written transcript of the deposition. Bruce has 30 days to approve the transcript.

“That could well be after the election,” said Rick Reiter, campaign manager for Coloradans for Responsible Reform, the coalition of hundreds of groups opposing the three measures.

Reiter said opponents were being careful not to comment on what was said in the deposition without having a verbatim record of the proceedings.

David Lane, Bruce’s attorney, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Denver District Judge Brian Whitney today ordered that, no later than Oct. 8, anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce sit for a deposition and answer questions about his involvement in getting Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 on the ballot. The measures would cut state and local taxes by billions and prohibit the state from any kind of borrowing while severely limiting borrowing by local governments.

Testimony from people whose names are listed as proponents of the three measures indicated they received the language for the three measures from an email address used by Bruce and that the former Republican lawmaker from Colorado Springs advised them on legal matters.

No campaign finance reports were filed with the state indicating the source of money to gather signatures for the three measures.

Over seven months, Bruce has repeatedly been spared from having to testify about his role in the initiatives, arguing that he wasn’t properly served (after 30 attempts by the state to serve him) and avoiding contempt-of-court penalties for his actions. Then, after Whitney ordered that he sit for a deposition by Sept. 28, Bruce argued his First Amendment rights would be violated by having to disclose whether he was involved with the issues.

Whitney rejected that argument last week, but the deposition deadline came and went, with Bruce’s attorney asking for another extension to Oct. 8 to hold the deposition. Whitney today issued an order calling for Bruce to testify by that day.

Now, anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce is still battling efforts to make him testify about his involvement with Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 – three tax-slashing initiatives on the November ballot.

Opponents of the measures want to know who paid for the printing of petitions and the gathering of signatures to put the initiatives on the ballot and why no campaign finance disclosure forms were filed to document contributions and expenditures.

Though a district judge last week denied Bruce’s attempts to avoid sitting for a deposition about his connections to the ballot measures, a deposition still hasn’t been scheduled.

A group of business leaders gathered today on the 30-yard line at Invesco Field at Mile High to (insert sports metaphor here) denounce the “Ugly 3” ballot initiatives.

How afraid are businesses that one or all of the measures might pass?

“I’ve been doing this business for 35 years, and I have never been as frightened with any measure on the ballot as I have been with these three,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation.

Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 would cut state and local taxes by billions of dollars and prohibit any borrowing by the state while placing strict new limits on local borrowing.

Coloradans for Responsible Reform, which is opposing Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101, picked the football stadium for a press conference so they could point to the 76,125 empty seats. That number is just a few thousand more than the 73,000 jobs that would be lost if the three measures pass, according to a study done by the opponents.

“This is not a social experiment that we’re talking about. This is a prescription for economic depression in Colorado,” Clark said.

Even though opponents of the ballot measures have raised more than $5 million already, they’re not taking anything for granted – especially in a year like this when voters appear to be in a blind rage at times.

“I don’t think any of us believes we’re ahead,” Clark said. “I think everyone of us are running like we’re 20 points behind.”

In addition to Clark, about 20 other business leaders showed for the the press conference, including Chris Kraft, owner of Quail Dairy in Fort Morgan; John Beeble, President/CEO of Saunders Construction; and Richard Lewis, President/CEO of RTL Networks.

One of the strongest voices in the state for cutting taxes and limiting government is calling out Republicans for not getting behind Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 — the three ballot measures that would cut billions in state and local taxes.

The open letter from the Colorado Union of Taxpayers was released over the weekend and responded to a Denver Post story earlier this month that reported that overwhelming majorities of Republicans in the legislature had signed a letter coming out against the three ballot measures. Many Republicans have said that while cutting taxes and limiting government is a good thing, the three initiatives go way too far, with some GOP officials calling them “anarchy.”

CUT backs the three measures, and said “it is clear to any rational person that these measures will be good for all of Colorado taxpayers” and should be supported.

“Many Coloradans are frustrated with the economy and the fee and tax increases by Governor Ritter and Legislators,” the letter said. “They are also suffering the consequences of earlier tax increases by Governor Owens’ administration. We share this frustration because we understand that in order to roll back and limit the scope of government in Colorado, we can count on neither Republicans nor Democrats.”

The letter from CUT also took a passage from the letter GOP lawmakers sent to fellow Republicans and turned it on its head.

The three measures would, after all, dramatically cut taxes and significantly reduce government.

“I have not endorsed any of them,” Caldara answered.

“Do you plan to endorse them?” we asked.

“I don’t know,” Caldara said, adding that he was “focused on” Amendment 63, which would prevent the state from requiring individuals to buy health insurance and prevent the state from ever preventing doctors from taking direct payments from patients outside of insurance plans.

Backers of Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101, three measures that would cuts billions in state taxes and spending, have been running a pretty low-profile campaign.

But someone apparently has taken the time to produce a video – which doesn’t appear to be airing on TV stations anywhere – touting Amendment 61, which would ban all borrowing by the state and limit local borrowing.

Speaking of borrowing, the YouTube video appears to expropriate a phrase often used by supporters of local bond issues: “Do it for the children.”

And that site offers a different view of what “responsible reform” is than that offered by opponents of Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101.

“Do you want ‘responsible reform” of our bungling, wasteful Colorado governments? Of course. We all do.

“The first step to reducing government waste is to reduce the amount of money they have to waste, which they collect in your taxes and fees. That’s what Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 will do. Start reading about them at the main website, COtaxreforms.com . Then volunteer to help pass them.
Voting YES in November is not enough. We must overcome millions of dollars in special interest group donations and their false claims on radio and TV. Please help.”

The website automatically redirects visitors to the main page of the initiatives’ supporters at cotaxreforms.com

“It’s a hijack of our name,” said Rick Reiter, campaign manager for Coloradans for Responsible Reform, an issue committee and non-profit that has existed for years.

Reiter said his group has considered filing legal action against supporters over the website name but has been too busy with running the campaign to worry about it.

He called the copycatted website name “typical” of supporters’ tactics, saying that backers of the initiatives have repeatedly avoided disclosure of who is behind the measures and how the signature-gathering efforts to put them on the ballot were funded.

“There’s more intellectual honesty in talking to a piece of furniture in my living room than with these people,” Reiter said. “They’re nuts.”

Supporters of the initiatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Had the proponents focused on repealing the FASTER law that raised vehicle registration fees and reversing the General Assembly’s decision to freeze mill levy rates, Suthers said, their work would have been more reasonable.

Instead, proponents created a situation that would drain the state’s general fund so thoroughly that only K-12 education would receive any funding.

Prisons, roads, human services, higher ed – all of that the state would no longer be able to maintain.

The Attorney General, who is pro-life, also said the “personhood” measure – Amendment 62 – goes too far by giving fetuses contractual rights.

Now, how might a fertilized egg go about acquiring property? Or go to court to advance a denial-of-due-process claim? Do we want to see a guardian-at-litem representing a fetus suing a pregnant woman because she takes medication for diabetes or epilepsy?

Our civil courts are busy enough as it is. But this could get even weirder.

Suthers paid us a visit as we’re preparing to make endorsements for the General Election. He faces Democrat Stan Garnett, the district attorney in Boulder.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.